


A Simple Life

by anxiousravenclaw



Series: Taking Control Into My Hands [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Norse Religion & Lore
Genre: Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Loki (Marvel), Protective Loki (Marvel), Single Parents, Sleipnir's an adorable toddler, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Tags May Change, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxiousravenclaw/pseuds/anxiousravenclaw
Summary: Loki ran from Asgard with his newborn son years ago and has been hiding out on Midgard. With only another year left before he intends on returning to Asgard Loki has finally caught the suspicions of the mortals he's largely ignored.After awakening out of the ice, Steve is quickly recruited to join Shield. His first mission: find and apprehend whoever stole the very thing Steve went under the ice for.
Relationships: Loki & Avengers Team, Loki & Sleipnir (Norse Religion & Lore), Loki & Steve Rogers, Loki/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers & Avengers Team
Series: Taking Control Into My Hands [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748923
Comments: 61
Kudos: 184





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is actually a combination of a sequel to my fic "Soft Grey Eyes" and an idea I've had circling in my head of a pairing between Steve and Loki who happens to also have a child. I ended up combining the two to make this fic and I really hope you all enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, a quick summary for those who haven't read "Soft Grey Eyes". You don't really need to read that fic in order to understand what's happening here. And a quick disclaimer before the summary, there is gonna be a mention of rape. 
> 
> Main things you gotta know is that after having a baby out of wedlock and before reaching adulthood in Asgard and being a son of royalty Odin wanted to take Loki's baby, Sleipnir, away from him and have him adopted by another family without revealing the child's parentage to anyone. Odin believed he was doing Loki a kindness but Loki wanted to keep his son but him being underage the decision to keep Sleipnir was ultimately up to Odin to make. So Loki ran from Asgard, Thor is the only one who knew of Loki's plan to flee and helped him escape by creating a distraction, and plans to return once he's considered of age, an adult on Asgard, because then he'll have full and complete custody over Sleipnir and Odin can't force Sleipnir away from him.  
> Loki had Sleipnir when he was the equivalent of 16 in Asgardian years. I'm not gonna do the math cuz I suck at it but I imagine more then three years have passed and that they age slower so even though Sleipnir has lived more then three years he's still a toddler. And yes, Loki will be an adult on Asgard when he's the equivalent age of 18 on Asgard. Again, I won't do math.  
> Also, Loki has denied that Sleipnir has a father, Loki was the one that gave birth to him and Sleipnir is the product of rape, but Sleipnir calls Loki his father because that's what Loki taught him to call him by to avoid confusion.  
> Loki also learned of his being adopted and of being a Jotun after being told the truth after giving birth as he didn't know how he was biologically able to conceive or birth a child.  
> And that's really all you need to know before reading this fic if you read this before "Soft Grey Eyes" or don't want to read it.

_🌀_

_There was a blinding bright light before there was nothing but surrounding darkness. Sleipnir had woken up and was crying loudly, indignant about having been woken roughly. Loki wants to soothe his son but he can't move. He managed to fall on his back, cradling Sleipnir to his chest, but he can't move._

_It hurts._

_Everything hurts. His entire body hurts. The worst of the pain centering around his lower belly and his pelvis. It's a throbbing pain, one that won't leave him._

_He takes deep, gulping, desperate breaths. Trying to gather the strength to move. To sit up, at the very least. He needs to move. Needs to fine some form of relief._

_A quick survey confirms that he found his way to Alfheim. His first stop on his list. Next to Asgard, Alfheim has the best know medical treatment specializing in magic. Loki didn't want to come here, didn't want him risking anyone recognizing him and reporting him to the Allfather. How long before Odin and Frigga notice his disappearance? How long until Thor can keep them all occupied? What if Heimdall already spotted something amiss?_

_But he needed to stop here. He's still so weak. Both his, and more importantly, Sleipnir's survival depends on Loki regaining his strength. He needs to move. He needs to._

_🌀_

"Daddy!"

Loki let out a rush of air as Sleipnir Jumped onto his bed and landed roughly on his stomach. "Daddy wake up!" Sleipnir shouted as he kept jumping, his tiny hands constantly pushing down on Loki's abdomen. Loki snuck his arms out from under the blankets and wrapped them around Sleipnir and rolled him onto his back, hovering over him for a second before raining kisses onto Sleipnir's face.

The shrill sound of Sleipnir's laughter filled the room as he shouted at his father to stop. Feeling his own face break into a smile nearly as big as Sleipnir's, Loki placed one more kiss on his nose before sitting back. Once he was free, Sleipnir shot back onto his feet, swaying slightly as he tried to balance on Loki's plush bed, and announced to the room, "I'm hungry, daddy."

"Are you now?" Loki responded with a smile, trying to tame back his hair. It always reverted into it's unruly self once Loki woke up and he didn't particularly enjoy having his hair in his face.

"I want pancakes! Pancakes, daddy! Let's have pancakes!" Sleipnir started jumping on the bed again and Loki reached out to stop him.

"Don't jump on the bed so much, Sleipnir." Loki reprimanded him and Sleipnir pouted but settled down to sit next to Loki, snuggling up into his side. Loki wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close to him. "Would you like blueberry pancakes this morning?"

"With lots and lots of syrup?" Sleipnir asked, looking up at Loki with those huge grey eyes of his, a note of pleading in them. Loki couldn't help but laugh as he picked Sleipnir up in his arms and climbed out of bed.

"Maybe not lots and lots of syrup," Loki told him, "but we can still have some syrup.. once we wash up."

Sleipnir started to protest, as he usually did, but didn't fight Loki as he took him to the bathroom and began to prepare the bath for him. As Sleipnir started to undress himself, because he was a big boy and didn't need help, Loki ran the bath water and added a bit of the bubble bath before scooping Sleipnir up and setting him down in the bath. Once Loki was finished washing Sleipnir he lifted him out of bath, using his magic to quickly dry him and carried him back to his room where Sleipnir once again insisted in dressing himself. He did, however, allow Loki to pick out his clothes.

Once Sleipnir was dressed and cleaned for the day Loki sent him to go play while Loki washed up. Sleipnir was still playing and entertaining himself when Loki started making the pancakes for Sleipnir. He also made some sausages for himself and cut up some strawberries and bananas for him and Sleipnir to share. After they finished their breakfast Sleipnir wanted to go to the park.

"After we stop by the office, love. Daddy has to check on something and then you and I have the entire day to ourselves."

"Can we get ice cream?"

Loki gave his son an amused look before saying, "We shall see, now, come along, love." Locking the door behind him, Loki reached for Sleipnir's hand and walked over towards the car he had just called for them and climbed in.

The office that Loki and Sleipnir were headed towards was more of an empire then a simple office and something Loki had worked and build on in all the years that he and Sleipnir had been living here on Midgard. Loki hadn't originally planned on starting any kind of business as he had no need for money as he had brought along a good amount of gold with him when he fled from Asgard. But Loki had needed a way to blend among the mortals, as much as he didn't want to. For a few years he had managed to keep himself and Sleipnir away from the mortals and their countless squabbles and troubles. He remembered those years, watching from afar as the mortals fought among themselves, waging wars, conquering lands, enslaving one another, fighting and struggling through their pandemics.

It had all seemed petty to Loki at the beginning, and at times it still did. But he also could not ignore or disregard their resilience, their desire to learn and grow, and their inability to stay beaten.

Loki was still hesitant to join them but he eventually did, carving out a life for him and Sleipnir that the mortals would not question. Moving when they continued to visibly age and Loki and Sleipnir did not. Loki had traveled throughout Midgard, starting and restarting their lives and letting the mortals come up with what his story was. It wasn't until one of those first big wars that Loki started investing some of his gold into businesses of his own, once simply being from a powerful family name wasn't enough to live the grand life Loki was accustomed to. He had had a few mortal servants and workers throughout his time here that had known who Loki truly was and even had a handful that he trusted to care for Sleipnir when Loki needed them to.

Now, though, Loki had no one employed to help him with Sleipnir or to run his house. Sleipnir had seemed confused at first, he was old enough to remember a few of his favorite nannies and chef's. Those who had played with him and treated him with fondness. But with Loki only being a short year away from reaching maturity Loki didn't want to bring in people to work in their home when they weren't needed. His magic was more then enough and with only him and his son at home he didn't need to hide it.

Even the business empire Loki had begun and grew throughout the years didn't need him as he had stepped back from it years ago. As far as those who had high positions in his business and worked directly under him knew Loki was simply a son that had inherited a family business from his father without any intention to run it. Loki still found the fact that he kept technically inheriting his own business from himself. Later this year, however, Loki would be bestowing the entire business to one of the mortals as he would have no need for it. He'd be leaving for Asgard at the end of the year.

Loki still didn't know what he thought of that, or if he was ready to return.

He missed Thor and his mother, knew that they missed him, and that Thor especially would be missing Sleipnir as well. He also knew that he wanted Sleipnir to know his family, even if they weren't related by blood Loki still considered them his family. But he didn't know what sort of welcome he and Sleipnir will be getting from Odin. Or whether he could really keep Sleipnir safe from Odin.

But Asgard was home and he wanted Sleipnir to know it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I probably didn't do my best job to explain Loki and Sleipnir's lives on Midgard over the very long years I imagined them to have lived there. If you've got questions about that, I will gladly answer them in the comments. And if I don't answer some of your questions it's because it will make it into the actual fic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I really hope you're all staying safe.

Loki was able to walk through his building all the way to his office with Sleipnir without attracting the attention of any of his current employees. It seemed they were all distracted with the various projects they were working an as well as some news that they seemed to feel was of importance. Loki had caught a few snippets of theirs to learn that Tony Stark was rumored to be arriving to New York in order to oversee the building and opening of a new venture of his.

This news seemed irrelevant to his company as they didn't deal with the making or selling of weapons like Stark did. Or had until Tony Stark had announced to the world that he would no longer have anything to do with manufacturing weapons. What he would do instead was unknown, which would explain his employees reactions.

Loki had known of the Stark family for years, though the only Stark he had ever been in contact with was Howard Stark, the father of Tony Stark. Loki thought little of the man, Howard had been an irritating man and Loki had only ever spoken face to face with him once. It was enough to want to avoid him. And to know that Howard would not have approved of his son's decision to cease manufacturing weapons.

"Oh! Mr. Gudmund, we weren't expecting you." A high pitched voice interrupted Loki's thought and brought his attention to the woman who served as the secretary for this entire upper floor where his office was located. Originally Loki had had his own secretary as well who sat just outside his office but as he no longer came often enough to need one she served as his secretary as well. Loki thought little of her, she was so nervous and flighty around him and tended to pry too much.

"I just came to check on something. I'll be in and out in three minutes. No need to inform anyone that I'm here."

"Of course, Mr. Gudmund," the secretary answered as she gave Sleipnir a hesitant wave he did not see, too busy pulling on Loki's coat to let him know he wanted to be carried. Loki lifted him up in his arms and hurried to his office.

Gudmund. Loki hated that name but he knew he couldn't go by Odinson while on Midgard. If Heimdall was watching Midgard and heard that name and noticed there were areas on Midgard he could not see it wouldn't be long before he deduced that this was where Loki was hiding. Laufeyson wasn't an option either, even if it was one he was willing to consider. But he an Sleipnir needed a family name to go by and Gudmund was the name Loki had eventually settled on.

Loki settled down at the desk that had been his for many years, though most believed he had only inherited it a few years ago, and started up his computer to look over a few files. Sleipnir played in a corner of the room that he liked to refer as his part of the office. Loki spared a second to give Sleipnir a fond smile before focusing back on what needed his attention at the moment. He downloaded the files he needed to take a closer look at later, checked the records to see what exactly has been going on. He also sent some of his immediate subordinates that he would be watching them closely in the next couple of months.

With all that done Loki logged off of the computer and went to gather Sleipnir, waving his hands over his toys to store them away. "Come on sweetheart," Loki held out his hand for Sleipnir to grab, "time to go."

"Can we get ice cream?" Sleipnir asked, widening his eyes pleadingly and giving Loki the full force of his sparkling grey eyes. Loki gave Sleipnir a fond look and ruffled his hair, making him let out a whine and pull back to attempt to smooth his hair back. Sleipnir hated having his hair look messy and Loki found it adorably funny, he couldn't help mussing up his hair every now and then.

"It's far too early for sweets, Sleipnir."

"What about later?" Sleipnir asked. He was never one to give up easily when it came to one of his favorite desserts.

"We shall see, love." Loki handed a note to the secretary of the floor to have her make sure that all the head executives he had sent an email to check it as he did expect them to send him daily updates from now on. Loki might have stepped far, far, back from the company he had build up on a mere whim and in an attempt to appear part of this world, but that did not mean he would just let it fall into anyone's hands.

But for now Loki was done dealing and thinking about "work" and he led himself and Sleipnir to the back entrance of the building as that was the closest way to get to Sleipnir's favorite park. According to him it had the fastest swings. Sleipnir always headed towards the swings first and always demanded that Loki join him. He either wanted him to push him or to swing beside him. Today Sleipnir decided he wanted Loki and him to see who could swing the highest first.

Loki won. He always won at that.

🌀

_"Don't do anything stupid until I get back."_

_"I_ _can do this all day."_

_"I'm just a kid from Brooklyn."_

_"Not a perfect soldier, but a good man."_

_"I'm with you till the end of the line."_

_"Bucky!"_

_"I gotta put her in the water."_

_"Don't you dare be late."_

...

...

"...I had a date."

🌀

Agent Romanoff, Natasha, as she kept insisting he call her, was waiting for Steve as he finished up his morning run.

As he walked towards her he watched her as she swept her eyes over him. Steve knew her enough by now to know that she was simply assessing him, trying to figure out where his head was at and how hard he has pushed himself. But it still threw him off to have anyone look at him like that. And he could tell by the smirk on her face that she saw that too.

"Good run, Captain?" She asked him. She hasn't uncrossed her arms since he first noticed her waiting outside the apartment complex SHIELD had set him up with. Few tenants, low cost, perfect place for a war hero the world had thought had been dead for the past 70 years to recover and get used to the news. Natasha was one of the agents Director Fury had help him ease into this new world. She was... she was something. Smart, capable, cunning, not one to ever be underestimated, and not one known for dropping by to check on you. This wasn't a social visit.

"Someone need me?" Steve asked as he came to a stop in front of her.

Natasha gave him a not completely unfriendly smile and told him, "Get cleaned up. You've got time, but yes, Director Fury is asking to see you. Wants to ask you something."

"He has some work for me." It wasn't a question. Steve knew. When he woke up and was told that he had been frozen for 70 years he knew that there would only be one use for him. That even after the war he had fought him was over that he would still be Captain America. "Does the world need saving?"

"It hasn't come to that just yet," Natasha said, turning around and Steve didn't hesitate in falling behind her as she led him up to his apartment, "but it is something Fury doesn't want to leave alone. He thinks you'll want to help us with it."

"Can I ask with what?" 

Natasha came to a stop in front of his door and moved aside so Steve could open it himself even though he suspected she had a key for it of her own. He appreciated the gesture nonetheless. Natasha stayed silent while he unlocked and opened the door, only speaking once Steve had shut the door behind them. "It's something that went missing while you were under the ice. Something that was in SHIELD'S custody before it was stolen from us and that we've been trying to find a trace off since it was. Something that we've only just recently caught the faintest trace of. Something that you'll be familiar with."

"What exactly is it?" Steve asked, a heavy feeling settling around him. He had a feeling Natasha sensed that too because she gave him an almost pitying gaze.

"What you went under the ice for to keep the world safe from. The tesseract."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is still staying safe and that you all enjoy this chapter 😊

As soon as they got to SHIELD headquarters Natasha led Steve into a room where Nick Fury was waiting for them. Clint Barton, another SHIELD agent that Steve had met before and liked just fine, though he was closer to Natasha, was also there. He had his eyes on a folder in front of him but still managed to greet Natasha with a nod of his head. Natasha headed straight towards him, taking a look at the papers in front of him as she sat down. Steve turned to Fury.

"You found the tesseract?"

Fury shook his head. "Howard Stark was the one that found it."

Steve wasn't impressed, and he wasn't satisfied with Howard's, SHIELD's, or even Fury's reasons for believing it was a good idea to have the tesseract. Not after what he saw when it was in the hands of the Red Skull. Not after he gave up everything to keep it away from other's hands.

"So," Steve asked, his arms crossed in front of him and a cautious look on his face, "why tell me this now and not when I first woke up out of the ice? Need me to help with some experiment with it, or did you realize how bad an idea this is and what me to get rid of it for you? Again."

"Neither," Clint answered. Steve turned to see that Clint was already looking at him, one of his eyebrows quirked up in a way that made him look both amused and amazed at Steve. "We're actually wondering if you'll help get it back."

"Get it back?" Steve looked from Clint to Natasha to Fury who met Steve's stare but stayed silent, an unreadable, and somewhat challenging, look on his face. Steve turned back to Clint and Natasha, Natasha slid one of the folders across the table towards him and Steve slammed his hand down, turning the folder over and opening it to take a look at it.

"It had been stolen," Natasha began explaining while Steve looked the folder over, "back when Howard Stark was the only one really working on it. Most believed he had simply lost it since he kept the tesseract under tight security and no one had been able to break through any of his security before."

"Not to mention that nothing had been caught on the video tapes and there weren't any signs that pointed to it being stolen at the time." Clint cut in as he slid another folder towards Steve. 

"And now you think it was stolen," Steve asked, "why?"

"It's just a hunch, but Fury thinks it's enough to at least take a look at," Natasha pointed towards the folder Clint had slid him but which he hadn't looked at yet. He opened it now to see a portrait, one of those old black and gray portraits that had been aged by time. It was also pretty well preserved since Steve didn't have any trouble seeing the subject of the portrait; a young man.

Steve looked towards Natasha and asked, "What does this have to do with the tesseract?"

"Check the photo underneath it." Natasha suggested, pointing at the stacks of papers underneath that of the portrait. It was another picture of the same young man, only this time it was in color with the year, 20XX, printed underneath it. 

Steve's first thought was that the portrait was a distant relative of the young man from the pictured photo. An ancestor of his. But the similarities, even between distant relatives, were too identical. His second thought was that they were simply different photos of the same man, but the portrait was too old for that to be possible... right?

"What is this?" Steve asked.

"They share a family name; Gudmund, " Natasha said, "the one from the portrait went by Matthew and the one from the most recent picture currently goes by Zane."

"Doesn't mean that either of those names are his actual name." Clint muttered as he shared a look with Natasha and Fury. Steve caught the implication. 

"You think this is the same person?"

"You don't?" Clint asked. Steve didn't answer but he knew they got their answer from his silence. It shouldn't be possible but Steve has seen enough to think it could easily be a possibility and he imagines the same could be said for Fury and anyone who works for SHIELD.

Steve put the folder down. "All right, but what makes you think he's the one who stole the tesseract? Who is he, or who is he pretending to be?" Clint pressed a button and several screens popped up, all with images of this Matthew/Zane Gudmund person.

There weren't many, whoever this Gudmund person was it seemed he preferred keeping a low profile. Even so, SHIELD was still able to gather some info on him. A long standing enterprise, passed on, allegedly, from father to son. Images spread out several years apart of only one man with the only differences the quality and clothing. Two pictures that stood out to Steve, and no doubt to Fury as well.

The first one Steve recognized from that day the serum was tested on him. He was there. In that room, sitting next to that Hydra spy that killed Dr. Erskine and who Steve had chased down. In the other photo he was standing next to Howard Stark, a look of distaste on his face.

Steve turned to Fury. "Didn't you tell me that Howard was killed in an accident." Fury nodded. Steve's fists clenched on top of the table. "You think this Gudmund is part of Hydra or something?"

"Hard to say," Fury answered, "he might have started it, or maybe he is Hydra or one of their experiments. Either way, it might be something worth looking into. Specifically, up close."

"You want me to approach him?"

Fury shrugged. "We already know who he is, or at least what identity he's using, and he has no reason to suspect anything. We don't think. And of everyone I've got, you're the best equipped to deal with him. So yes, get close to him and find out what you can, Natasha and Clint will help you. And if you find a trace of the tesseract, or see it yourself, bring it back. And deal with Gudmund, if you can."

🌀

"Daddy, what are you looking at?" Sleipnir asked and Loki jumped a little in his seat. He didn't hear Sleipnir come in and he looked down to see him focusing on the contents of the chest.

"Just some things from home." Loki answered, feeling a tad bit too sentimental.

"Home?" Sleipnir raised himself onto his tiptoes to be able to better look into the chest. "I thought this was our home?"

Loki picked Sleipnir up and placed him on his lap and Sleipnir reaches out to pull out a soft green cloth. It's the blanket Loki had wrapped him in when they had left Asgard.

"This is only our temporary home, sweetheart, I'm talking about our true home."

"Oh." Sleipnir said simply as he was still fully distracted. Loki let him. Everything in this chest were things of his that he had brought with him from Asgard. Every now and then Sleipnir would ask him what something was and what it was for or what it did and Loki began to realize that he never really talked much of Asgard with Sleipnir. He's told him that they came here from Asgard and that they have family there. Sometimes Sleipnir asks about his grandparents and Uncle Thor but he knows he doesn't speak enough about them. Not enough that Sleipnir can feel confident that he _knows_ them when he finally see's them.

He hasn't even told his son that they are royalty. That Asgard is a realm of warriors, magic, and gods. He hasn't told him of Heimdall, Sif, or the Warriors Three. The power Asgard holds, the myths, and stories. He hasn't even begun to prepare him for how truly different his life will be back on Asgard compared to here on Midgard. Loki hasn't prepared Sleipnir at all.

_"Who put me in your tummy, daddy? Why didn't they come with us here? Are they waiting for us there?"_

Ah. That's right. That's why. When he first tried talking of Asgard with Sleipnir it brought forward all these questions that Loki didn't want to answer. Didn't want to talk or think about.

"Daddy! Too tight!" Sleipnir cries out and that's when Loki realizes that he's been tightening his hold on Sleipnir a bit too much. He loosens his grip and Sleipnir turns so that he's facing him and reaches his hands out to grab Loki's face and gives him a kiss on the tip of his nose. "Are you okay, daddy?"

Loki smiles, his face softening as he pulls Sleipnir into a hug. "I'm okay, sweetheart. I was just thinking of home. We'll be going back there, to Asgard, very soon. Do you remember what I've told you about it?"

Sleipnir shakes his head. "No, but I remember the stories of Uncle Thor." 

Loki laughs and looks towards the chest and asks Sleipnir, "Do you want to hear of Asgard tonight?"

Sleipnir's entire face lit up at the question. "Yeah!" He shouted, throwing his hands up in the air and nearly bouncing off of Loki's lap. 

"Come on then," Loki stood up with Sleipnir in his arms, "let's go get comfortable and I'll tell you everything you'll want to know."

So that night Loki told Sleipnir everything of Asgard that he loved and missed. He showed him images of Thor, Frigga, and even Odin. He used his magic to help show him just how magnificent the Bifrost and rainbow bridge are. He spoke to him of everything that was of Asgard and saw the light of awe beginning to shine in Sleipnir's eyes as he heard more and more.

"Are we really going to go live there?" Sleipnir asked.

Loki nodded, snuggling closer to Sleipnir. "In just under a year."

"Is it far?"

"It's very far."

"But then how are we gonna get there? Will I get to ride the Bifrost!?" Sleipnir seemed really excited by the prospect.

"No, honey," Loki laughed, "you're still a bit too young I think. I'd prefer you be a little older before you go on that."

Sleipnir stuck out his bottom lip and crossed his arms in front of him and said, "I'm not gonna walk all the way there, you said it's far!"

Loki let out a laugh. "Who said anything about walking there?"

"We're not?"

"No, sweetie, there's no way for us to walk all the way to Asgard."

"But then how?" Sleipnir was starting to whine so Loki asked him, "Do you really want to know how we'll be getting there?" When Sleipnir nodded his head vigorously Loki decided to humor him. He sat up began moving his hands in front of him, opening one of his many space pockets. Sleipnir, recognizing what Loki was doing, sat up also so he could get a closer look. Sleipnir let out a sound of awe as a blue light started to appear in his father's hands before a cube fell into his hands.

It was such a pretty blue and there was a light coming out from it, swirling inside it.

"This is how we're going to get home to Asgard." Loki said, holding it out for Sleipnir to be able to get a better look at it, pulling it back when he tried to grab at it or touch it.

"What is it?" Sleipnir asked.

"It's called the tesseract." Loki answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, Loki and Steve will be meeting up soon. They will 😅


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So..... I know it's been a couple of months since I posted... anything really and I'm sorry about that. My dog of 10 years unexpectedly died in August and depression hit me like a motherfucking train. Enough that I just lost interest in everything, his death just really fucked me up. I'm still kinda depressed, not gonna lie, but I'm starting to show interest in hobbies and shit again and I did write whenever I actually felt like I could and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!  
> Also, stay safe and wear a mask if you gotta go outside :)

After an entire week of lurking outside Zane Gudmund's highly secure house and staking out Gudmund enterprises Steve, Clint, and Natasha have still not seen any sign of "Zane Gudmund" himself.

"He hasn't gone on a vacation out of the city or anything, right?" Steve heard Clint mutter in his ear before letting out a very loud and long yawn. Steve grimaced but stayed silent as he was currently in line, getting them all some lunch and didn't want or need any looks his way.

"There are no records of him leaving the city so no, he's still within the city. Or should be." Natasha answered and Steve pressed a finger to the communicator in his ear and, as quietly as he could, asked, "There's no possibility that he somehow knows we're watching him and snuck away somewhere we don't know about, right?"

"What like a secret lair or something?" Clint asked.

"I was thinking more of an apartment or something," Steve mumbled, looking towards the menu when he saw that he was getting closer to the front of the line. He was trying to remember what it was Clint and Natasha had both asked for but it's possible neither of them specified. They just asked for some food and strong coffee. "He is rich, right? It wouldn't surprise me if he did have several other places under his name."

Judging by the buzzing silence in his ear, Steve wasn't if it was because they were looking into his theory or if they saw something happening on their end. Today the three of them were assigned to watch the house while a group of SHIELD Agents kept an eye on the Gudmund business. Only Natasha kept in contact with those agents. Steve was pretty close to them, if needed he could quickly go to meet up with those agents.

Steve was seriously contemplating just abandoning his spot in line to go check on those SHIELD agents when he heard the bell above the door ring and found himself turning to check behind him and stiffened in shock.

"Sorry, Steve," Natasha's tiny voice came in through his ear, "there was a false sighting over by Gudmund's enterprises building."

"I don't think it was." Steve answered and before anyone could ask he said, "I"ve got eyes on Zane Gudmund right now."

The man Steve was looking at strongly resembled both photos Steve had seen earlier this week. The resemblance was far too canny, both of those photos could have been taken today for there was no sign of aging. The only difference was just the clothing... and the fact that he was holding the hand of a small child.

"What did you just say, Steve?" Steve heard Natasha ask as the same time as he heard the cashier boy say, "Next in line please." Steve turned away from Gudmund long enough to see that he was next in line. It was too late to duck out now without making a scene but Gudmund was in line somewhere behind him so Steve stepped forward and quickly ordered the first thing he saw on the menu. Once he paid he slunk off towards the corner so he could keep a close eye on Gudmund and so he could subtly answer Natasha and Clint who were all but demanding he answer them.

"Can't talk much," Steve informed them both, "can't risk anyone overhearing me but it's him. He walked in the shop and he's still waiting in line. I'm gonna try and follow him."

"No," Natasha argued, "not on your own. Tell us where you are and I'll go meet you."

"I can handle him myself-" Steve started to argue but Clint quickly cut in and said, "You're not exactly subtle, I highly doubt you're even capable of being sneaky."

"I've got eyes on him." Steve argued as he heard his name being called and moved to pick up his order and made a show of looking for napkins and straws to give him an excuse for hanging back. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the little boy started to jump on the balls of his feet, tugging on Gudmund's hand. Gudmund looked down, giving the boy a smile, and opening his mouth to say something to the boy who proceeded to point excitedly at the dessert case on the counter.

"Listen," Clint was still talking in Steve's ear, "we can't risk him catching on that he's being watched and being even more on guard then he already is. Let Nat do the tailing."

Steve noticed that Gudmund and the kid were almost to the front of the line so he took his takeout bag and walked out the door. Knowing he couldn't just wait outside the shop Steve quickly crossed the street to wait. Keeping an eye on the shop Steve spoke into the communicator one last time and said, "I'll update you two as soon as I can and I'll make sure I'm not spotted."

"Wait, Steve-" Natasha started to protest but Steve turned the communicator off before stowing it away in his pocket just as Gudmund and the kid, holding a pretty big donut in his hands, walked out and headed down the street. Steve watched them go a few feet before heading in the same direction as them. Steve made a note to mention the boy to SHIELD as soon as he could. They never mentioned whether this Gudmund person had a son or a kid under his care. Steve didn't want to assume the worst but if that boy had parents that were worried and missing him he'd like them to be reunited as soon as they could. Not that the boy seemed scared, he was happily chomping away at that donut, his tiny hand holding on to Gudmund's and swinging between them.

Steve managed to follow them for several blocks, almost for twenty minutes. He had even managed to cross the street so he was walking only a couple of feet behind them before he had lost sight of them. One minute they were both in front of them the next they got swallowed up by a large crowd. 

Gudmund was tall enough that Steve had still been able to see the top of his head and was following that when he lost sight of him. He had crouched down, Steve saw him crouch down, and now there was no sign of him.

Steve had hurried forward, quickly coming up with an excuse in case he ended up bumping into him but he wasn't anywhere in sight. He had just vanished somehow. Did he know he was being followed? Steve didn't even know where they were heading, this was no where near or even in the direction of Gudmund's house or building.

Was that on purpose? Did Gudmund know he was being followed, being watched from the very beginning?

In that case Steve needed to go back, needed to contact Nat and Clint. They were right, he shouldn't have tried following him on his own. Natasha might have ended up actually figuring something out.

Steve reached into his pocket for the communicator and turned around nearly crashing into a kid. "Sorry," Steve told the kid and giving him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Steve would have kept on walking without really looking at the little kid if he hadn't spoken up.

"Why are you following us?" A small and curious voice asked.

Surprised Steve looked down to see a very small child standing in front of him, the same child he saw with Gudmund. "I'm sorry?" Steve was sure he sounded guilty but hoped the kid, he couldn't be older then four, wouldn't notice.

The kid seemed to look right through him though. His grey eyes narrowed in suspicion and he stuck his bottom lip out before pointing at Steve and, in a very accusing and patronizing tone, said, "You're following us! Don't lie, I know you are."

"Uhhh," Steve was at a lost for words. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that or what he should do. He was hesitant to just leave the kid alone here, even though he clearly didn't seem to trust him, but he also shouldn't stick around and risk running into Gudmund. Where was he anyways? Isn't this his son or nephew or something?

Suddenly Steve watched as the kids eyes perked up and shouted out, "Daddy!" The boy then ran around Steve and he heard a faint thud as the boy, no doubt, ran into someone. Steve, knowing it would look odd if he kept his back turned, turned around to see Zane Gudmund himself standing behind him with his arms wrapped protectively around the young boy and his sharp green eyes on Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when the next chapter will be up but I will be continuing this story, it'll just take time :)

**Author's Note:**

> Updates will be slow because I'm me and I only do slow updates now 😅


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